Alcohol Drinkers

Nutrition
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As many, I like to enjoy myself. Generally have a drink or two a night (beer, whisky&coke, Gin&Tonic, etc.), most nights, not because I feel like I need to, but just like to relax outside with a drink after work usually while I listen to TR podcasts, or watch GCN/GMBN

Trying to cut some weight so I decided to cut my drinking down to one drink during the week and allow myself a total of two on the weekend, simply because I realize that its a lot of sugar/carbs I’m taking in at a time that I don’t really need them. I split a tall can of some amazing beer with a friend last night so that about does it for me until Saturday.

I know some choose not to drink at all, that’s fine, I’m not going to be that guy though. My question is for those who DO drink, how much do you drink, how often, and how does it fit into your diet/training? Trying to see if I should cut back more, or if indulging more isn’t as bad as I think

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For me … I drink far too much :rofl:

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I’ll typically go through a 4 pack in a week, with an extra 1 or 2 if there is a get-together on the weekend.

If a serious buzz starts, that’s the end of the beer. My tolerance isn’t too high these days, and I don’t want to ruin the next morning having to “recover” from a stupid overindulgence.

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Let me start by saying I fkn love beer. Love it. Gimme gimme gimme.

I drink throughout the season but not every night/day. On race weekends, beer seems more available and I have a strict 3 beer policy the night before a race or I will have a less than stellar performance. Every beer is followed by a water or two, again to keep off adverse effects.

Now, during build blocks or intense racing, I have to steer clear of it almost always. Not for fear of weight gain or similar, but because I can feel a slight dullness that I don’t have the adrenaline of racing to shake off. So, I can only recommend you toy with what works for you and stick to it.

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I drink too much as well… for me it’s more about the ritual (beers with my buddies, wine with a good meal, etc.) than the actual alcohol. I’ve toyed with the idea of cutting it out (or partially cutting it out) over the years, but nothing ever really stuck. I like drinking wine with my wife in the evening…it’s never been a “problem” for us, other than alcohol isn’t super ideal physiologically.

To quantify it, my wife and I generally split a bottle of wine every night. On weekends I like to have a couple of beers after a long ride (after I drink plenty of water/recovery meal, etc.) - also on the weekend I allow myself a bourbon, but I generally stay away from the hard stuff during the week.

Overall my progress has been the following without changing my alcohol intake:

— Started riding bikes as a full blown “enthusiast” 6 years ago at a portly 6’ tall and 220 lbs.

— Bought an indoor trainer and a Zwift subscription 3.5 years ago so as not to lose on-bike fitness during the winter. Weighing in at about 205 lbs. FTP = 219

— Did my first race 3 years ago and started to get serious about what I thought at the time was “training” - I dipped under 200 lbs. for the first time in a while. FTP = 245

— After getting in much better physical condition, but not getting much faster I started structured training about 16 months ago. Weight = ~185 lbs and FTP 265

— After a year of structured training I was at FTP ~300 and weight ~175 lbs.

— 4 months ago I started working with a coach and modifying my training to work more toward maximal aerobic conditioning and less about FTP gains. I’ve also started having my best results in races, by far. Current weight is a very fit 167 lbs and FTP is likely around ~310 which is just over 4w/kg (I haven’t done a ramp test in a while).

That’s over 50 lbs/22.7 kg of weight loss and a very respectable power output over the course of my evolution as a cyclist.

I’ve done all of this without modifying my alcohol intake. And I do think I drink a bit too much.

Could I have gotten better more quickly without alcohol? Absolutely. Do I need the extra calories? I do not. Are my results the absolute maximal they could be without alcohol? Likely not.

With that said - when consumed responsibly and moderately (most of the time…) alcohol is a lifestyle drug that, honestly, fits into my lifestyle. And I’ve had great gains and great results in both cycling and overall fitness while not eliminating it entirely.

Alcohol is a personal choice for everyone, and if you’re looking for an endorsement of it as a means to get faster on the bike, you won’t get that from me.

But I think you can incorporate it into your life while still getting very fit and very fast. I have.

That’s my honest 2c.

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Thanks for the detailed reply. It’s funny when I go to the bar with the fast guys after the local tuesday night crit amateur thing, they are thinner than me and drink more, and are all way way faster.

I guess my goal with drinking is to cut out excess calories/carbs/sugars but maybe there are other ways to do that without sacrificing enjoyment. I’d certainly rather cut out chips and chocolates than beer

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Previously 2 beers a night, usually in the 6-7% range. If there is beer in the fridge it will be drank every night until its run out. I crave drinking in the evening. It’s a problem I’ve identified and have put in a lot of effort to change it. Number one reason for me is that it’s impossible to recover well with my training load if every night im having alcohol. I rarely drink these days but every damn night I crave beer so much. It’s always an internal debate with myself to run to the store and grab some.

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I’m middle aged, I don’t race, and I f’n love beer. Quality of life means good beer and I see no problems with it. I take comfort in the fact that until very recently in human history water sources were suspect and beer was a staple of the human diet. :laughing:

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Ditto to all of the above but one thing I find when craving a beer and when I’m trying to be good, is that I substitute it for sparkling water/soda with lemon squash added.
Sugar free, fizzy and it seems to remove the craving.

I don’t drink at the least 2 days before events, my thinking being you need to carb load and hydrate and having a few drinks puts me in a water deficit and needing to catch up first thing, and typically a week for A races so the fizzy water helps.

Funny thing is after some big races I can’t stand the thought of any type of alcohol.

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I reigned mine back so now:

a) I don’t drink the night before a race / training effort as it inhibits performance
b) I don’t drink the night just after training as it damages recovery

This kind of naturally enforces me to one night a week, but I like a beer also so sometimes its challenging. I use a substitute in the evenings - decaf tea, Coke or Sprite so I don’t get bored of beverages.

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Love love love a great beer. But it impacts my recovery, and with base training now underway I’ve cut back to having a couple beers on Friday night. My substitute when the cravings hit is to drink Kombucha - we buy the half gallon at Costco. :+1:

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The Trilogy is my favorite for sure, though I’m not sure if its really good to drink as much Kombucha if I substitute it for beer in the same quantity LOL

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I enjoy beer and have a some whiskey in the fall/winter.

A good practice is to drink the spirits on the rocks or with some water to avoid all the sugar in cola drinks.

I probably have 12 drinks per week but I am also cutting back to about 10. I made a choice to eliminate cola drinks, ice cream, fast food, chips, candy; really all the other garbage.

Everyone is different but I think if you’re diet is free of the garbage I mentioned then a drink or 2 a day is alright.

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Cut back on drinking at the same time as starting TrainerRoad - didn’t want to be drinking after training. I’ve been doing it about a month now, and it’s weird. I definitely had some strong cravings the first couple weeks, but for the most part that’s gone away now.

Unfortunately, it seems like I’ve been compensating by drinking a lot after races. I think the last couple cross races I’ve drank about 6-10 drinks throughout the day following them.

Longer term, I think I’ll probably avoid drinks the day or two before a race, but not worry so much about having a beer or two on a random night otherwise. And hopefully the drinks after a race can stay more in the 4 drink range.

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I drink weekend evenings only - usually wine. My wife and I will consume between 2 or 3 bottles between us Friday to Sunday evening, so about two glasses per evening.

I won’t drink during the week or the night or two before an important race.

I train pretty seriously (10h/week) and am very competitive even at 47. I eat very healthily, this is a my little ‘vice’ during Mum and Dad time when kids have gone to bed :rofl:

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Trilogy is awesome, they need to sell it in mini kegs!

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I developped drinking habits after spending 3 years partying a lot during college. I carried these habits even if I had a day job. I was drinking 2-3 beers everyday and a lot more during the weekend. However, I was able to stop this pattern by having a strong objective. By having an A race marked on the calendar it was easy for me to get rid of everything getting in my way. After few weeks without drinking alcohol, my craving for beer disapear and now I am able to control my self by only having 2-3 drinks during the weekend. I don’t think that this amount hinder performances. I think it is actually the opposite. Finding balance is the best way to acheive long term goals.

When we have a clear vision of what we want in life and what we want to acheive, it is easy to make choices on a daily basis that will help us reach our goal.

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I enjoy it still but only very occasionally. Depression and addiction run deep in my family so I’m happier without it, and the special occasions I partake is nice because it only takes one drink now. I drank very heavily in my 20s and 30s and I got tired of the hangovers. I trained through my drinking days even up to just a few years ago. I just prefer life without it.

That said, see my comments in the cannabis thread. That’s something I would have a much harder time removing. We all have our fixations I guess.

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I don’t drink during the week except Fridays maybe a couple.

On an occasional party once a month it’s more like 15-20 beers but that hurts the performance quite a bit. Certainly for the following 2 days, but also the week after. It’s not so much the alcohol, but mainly the late night and lost day after that disrupts my recovery/sleep for the whole week.

I don’t race officially and beat my friends 9/10 even on a bad day, so I’m alright with it.

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I think what is called Heavy Drinking in the US is seen more as a quiet social drink here in the UK

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